Representative Tony Gonzales, a relatively moderate Republican who represents a border district in Texas, was already anticipating a tough fight this year to keep his seat: a rematch against a hard-line conservative opponent whom Mr. Gonzales just narrowly defeated two years ago.
Then allegations resurfaced that he had pressured an aide, Regina Santos-Aviles, into an extramarital affair before she died by suicide last year. The scandal has upended Mr. Gonzales’s primary campaign and thrown his political future into question. Though the congressman has denied the allegations, which gained fresh attention last week after the publication of text messages between him and Ms. Santos-Aviles, he is all but certain to face a congressional ethics investigation regardless of Tuesday’s outcome.
Republican and Democratic members of Congress have called for Mr. Gonzales’s resignation or urged him to end his re-election bid. They include several right-wing lawmakers who have voiced support for Mr. Gonzales’s opponent, Brandon Herrera, a YouTuber and gun rights activist.
The political arm of the House Freedom Caucus, a group of ultraconservative Republicans, endorsed Mr. Herrera last week after the publication of Mr. Gonzales’s text messages with Ms. Santos-Aviles.
Though more moderate in some respects than others in his party, Mr. Gonzales had aligned himself with President Trump on immigration and border security, and won his endorsement last year. Mr. Trump gave a small shout-out to Mr. Gonzales at a rally in Texas last week, acknowledging the lawmaker’s attendance and simply saying “congratulations.”
Mr. Gonzales has so far dismissed calls for his resignation, making it likely that he would continue serving his term even if he loses his primary. And so far, Republican leaders, who hold a razor-thin majority in the House that means they already cannot afford more than one defection on a party-line vote if all members are voting, have not joined those calling on him to resign.
But the top two House Republicans, Speaker Mike Johnson and Representative Steve Scalise, have signaled that they expect Mr. Gonzales to face scrutiny from the Ethics Committee. Both have argued that lawmakers should not rush to mete out any punishment before such an investigation concludes.
Still, it could take substantial time for the panel to investigate and release a public report. If Mr. Gonzales were to leave office before an inquiry were concluded, the committee would not publicly release its report under the House’s rules.
Michael Gold covers Congress for The Times, with a focus on immigration policy and congressional oversight.
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